I bought a SEAT Leon Refference 5-door hatchback while the order is actually queued for 3 months and so not built yet, I'm assuming it is the the latest variant (if there are subclasses?) of MK3.

The test drive I made in a SEAT Leon Styl 5-door hatchback if I'm remembering correct. I took this picture of it on that trip:


And this is what I'm expecting my car will be looking like.

But for the last months, every here and there I noticed different looking SEAT Leons driving around or parking somewhere... with 5 doors and hatchback while by appearance their builddate lets me assume they're MK3 aswell.

So now I'm in fear of the car I'll get delivered is not the one I optical expected. But I actually had no idea what else could specify the serial of the hull. I got the idea there might be a difference between the look of the refference, styl and other variants of the car. While this sounds not logical to me from the point of a car producer. Googling for images of the car while expecting an precise marking related to it made inconsistent results not bringing this further for me, aswell. So now I'm asking here: What are the specifications for a SEAT Leon that describe what kind of look for the hull it will be? And sumarized: Will I get the car as I'm expecting it to look?

  • You really need to talk to the dealership where you ordered your vehicle. Tell them of your fears and let them assuage them. I'm assuming ordering cars in Spain (or elsewhere) works somewhat like it does in the US. You need to get there and get it done sooner rather than later. If they haven't started building the car yet, you should be able to make changes if needed. Go over every bit of the details so you know you are getting the car you want. Be anal and get it right, otherwise you'll never be happy with what you get. – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 Feb 23 '16 at 12:49
  • @ᴘᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2: Well its just an trader I made the contract with and he send it to the manufacturer which is actualling holding it queued. And they specialized just for importing like 3 or 4 kinds of car at all from different brands. But they made a price thats like 50% off compared to others (ie. the car I made the test drive with, actually not where I bought it; The cars price was 24.000€ with 86(?) HP gas engine while I actually bought the import one for 16.000€ with an 115HP diesel engine). So even if they would tell me its not the hull I'm expecting, I would still take it. – Zaibis Feb 23 '16 at 12:57
  • But its the uncertainty, that makes me feel uncomfortable with it. As soon I know which of the options will happen I'm fine. It doesn't really matter which it will be. (of course one prefered over the other) – Zaibis Feb 23 '16 at 12:59
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    All you can do is ask the question. If they don't have the answer for you, treat it like a Christmas present: you know it's coming, but be pleasantly surprised! Trade the cost for not knowing, as it sounds like you're getting a great deal. – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 Feb 23 '16 at 13:30

From what I found, Seat offers 4 main versions (depending on market) of the 5 doors Leon:

  • Reference
  • Style
  • FR
  • CUPRA (a lot different than the other)

Most cars have several trim levels, which will differ in equipment and look (and sometimes performance), from which you can choose. The Leon is no exception, so expect to be differences in rims, and minor body work (at least) from one trim level to another. It's absolutely normal to see minor differences on the street between the same car model. Seat is also part of the VW group and they have the habit of offering anything as an ad-on and this also leads to a lot of differences between sold cars.

You should check online and see what the Reference level should look like and have as features and also ask for a specification sheet from your dealer to make sure you get what you expect. The main things that you could have different from the Style version are the rims (you may get steel instead of aluminium) and the fog lights (you may not get them).

(I linked the Spanish website, because Seat being a Spanish brand, I would expect them to list all their versions in there and have the most accurate information.)

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  • ok so since they even change the color and minimal features of the cars picture while switching the versions, I correctly see it that way that I can assume what I see there is what I would get? (What would mean, its the one, I'm hoping for) – Zaibis Feb 23 '16 at 13:10
  • @Zaibis You can't be 100% sure of anything with car dealers. That's why you should ask them to give you a complete specification of the car you are buying. You can use the website on your own to make sure they tell you everything, or see what optionals are available and ask for them if you want them as extras. – Alin Purcaru Feb 23 '16 at 13:12
  • regarding your edit. The features I ordered I designed carefully and I'm aware of rims, lights, seats, media system and so on. What was worrying me was the shape of the hull, which seems to be the same for them. – Zaibis Feb 23 '16 at 13:13
  • @Zaibis As far as I can tell, it should be the same shape. Not even the CUPRA has big changes from the base model. – Alin Purcaru Feb 23 '16 at 13:21
  • @Zaibis Don't you have a country website of SEAT? What country are you in? – Alin Purcaru Feb 23 '16 at 13:22

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